EPF Expected To Announce Dividend Between 5.5% And 6.3%

Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp for the latest stories and breaking news.

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is projected to declare dividends of around 5.8% to 6.3% for Conventional Savings and 5.5% to 6.0% for Shariah Savings for the 2025 financial year

Global Asia Consulting senior consultant Samirul Ariff Othman said the forecast reflects strong investment income recorded in the first nine months of the year, but remains subject to disciplined profit realisation and the fund's long-term reserve requirements.

"Based on the nine-month performance, as well as EPF's discipline in profit realisation and reserves, the expected 2025 dividend is around 5.8% to 6.3% for Conventional Savings and about 5.5% to 6.0% for Shariah Savings," he told Berita Harian.

Samirul said contributors should understand that not all market gains can be distributed as dividends, particularly those that have yet to be realised

"EPF has stressed that 'mark-to-market' gains, including those driven by foreign exchange movements and which are unrealised, cannot be distributed as dividends," he said.

He added that while global markets have shown a solid recovery, the final dividend will depend on the level of realised profits and the need to retain part of the income as reserves.

"These factors directly limit the 'ceiling' for dividends, even when investment income appears high on paper," he explained.

Samirul also dismissed expectations of dividends reaching 6.5% to 7.0%, despite encouraging performance in the first nine months

"The EPF's mandate is not to maximise dividends in a single year, but to ensure the sustainability of long-term returns," he said.

He added that with EPF's fund size exceeding RM1 trillion, a maturing contributor population, and increasingly critical reserve requirements, the fund remains cautious about over-distribution.

"From a pension fund governance perspective, a rate of 5.8% to 6.3% for Conventional Savings is already within a competitive, defensible range without compromising reserve discipline," he said.

As of the first nine months of 2025, EPF recorded investment income of RM63.99 billion, up 11% from RM57.57 billion in the same period last year, reflecting a healthy earnings trajectory.

For 2024, EPF declared a dividend of 6.3% for both Conventional and Shariah Savings

Total investment income for 2024 stood at RM74.46 billion, 11% higher than RM66.99 billion recorded in 2023.

EPF said 2024's higher dividend was driven by recovering global and domestic markets, resilient economic growth, and sound portfolio management.

Here's a look back at the EPF dividends declared in the last five years:

2020
Conventional Savings: 5.20%
Shariah Savings: 4.90%

2021
Conventional Savings: 6.10%
Shariah Savings: 5.65%

2022
Conventional Savings: 5.35%
Shariah Savings: 4.75%

2023
Conventional Savings: 5.50%
Shariah Savings: 5.40%

2024
Conventional Savings: 6.30%
Shariah Savings: 6.30%